Psalm 23 Vs The Lord's Prayer
Pastor J. R. Wilhite, author
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Psalm 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me
beside the still waters.
Psalm 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff
they comfort me.
Psalm 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of
my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Now let us compare Psalm
23 with the
Lord's Prayer ;
Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Our Father (the Lord is my shepherd). As a father God will always look out
after us. But only to the extent we allow.
Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is]
in heaven.
Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.
We have to believe that our shepherd will not lead us into temptation, but
that temptation comes from outside. So if it comes, we have stepped out
and need to step back in. Deliverance from evil is us dwelling in the
house of the Lord, because there is no evil in His house.
The biggest problem people have is in unforgiveness.
Why would anyone who has lost a child want to be separated forever from
that child, just because they could not forgive? All they have to do is
forgive, and eternity will be spent with that child.
If you do not believe me, then read what Jesus said;
Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you:
Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses.
y prayer for you is that you will learn true forgiveness Amen.
Psalm 23:1 The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.
The Lord is Jesus and He is our shepherd. What does a shepherd do? A
shepherd looks out after his flock. He tends to their needs, he makes sure
they have plenty to eat and drink. He will even leave the flock to find a
lost one. He keeps them from danger. He protects them from the wild
animals and the weather, and anything else that may harm them. So any one
of the flock of a shepherd never wants for anything, because all of their
wants are supplied by the shepherd.
A green pasture to a flock is a soft place to lie down in and rest, and
sleep. He also makes them rest and sleep. He then leads them beside the
still waters, away from turmoil and trouble. He leads them to the peaceful
areas.
He restores the soul, the mind, the will and the emotions. Those that are
suffering from anything mentally or emotionally he restores to peace. He
directs only in paths of righteousness and he does this for his name's
sake.
Even when the valleys come they won't have any substance, they will be
only shadows. If that is not enough, he is there as protection. He is the
rod and staff. The rod for protection and the staff for support and
guidance.
Then through all of this he feeds us and he does so in the very presence
of our enemies. Then he covers our head and purifies us. And all we have
is running over.
As our shepherd Jesus always sees to our needs, and by dwelling in the
house of the Lord (Jesus) for ever, we will always have goodness and
mercy.
Thy Kingdom come. It has through Jesus. If you be of Christ you are of the
kingdom of God. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. Is there
sickness, illness, lack, poverty, sadness, hate, anger, strife, offence,
idolatry, etc. in heaven? No, so God's will is that it is not here on
earth. So why is it? Because we are given free will. We are not forced. We
can make the choice. In order to operate as it states, we have to operate
as sheep (flock), following the shepherd. As stated in
Psalms 23:1.
Here again is the shepherd looking out after us, we ask, but we do not
believe or we do not expect. Imagine if the birds of the air operated as
we do in doubt. There would be very few if any left.
If we are operating as in heaven, there is no strife or offence, therefore
no unforgiveness, because there is nothing to forgive. Since we do not
operate that way, we have to see to it that we forgive others, and ask for
our own forgiveness.
How can someone forgive a person who kills a child, or rapes a woman, or
steals? Easy; think about what happens if you forgive. First you forget
(if you truly forgive) because true forgiveness brings true forgetfulness.
If you forget, then the pain goes and is replaced with peace. Which is
better to have, bitterness and pain, or peace and joy? By holding on to
unforgiveness you hold onto the pain and bitterness; you get sick, and
then you can even die. For what? The person who did this, did not suffer,
and they may even be elated that they took you as well as the one to whom
the original wrong was done. So by being unforgiving you are adding to the
problem and arming the people you are not forgiving with weapons to hurt
you. But by forgiving, you are turning it over to one who can do something
about this. PLUS, you are securing your spot in heaven. While the other is
secured a spot in Hell.
2-20-04 H.O.M.E.